Returning to Grad School at SNHU with Intro to the MFA (MFA-505)

Returning to grad school wasn't on my bingo card this year. (But, then again, a lot of things weren't.) However, my decision to apply for Southern New Hampshire University's Master of Fine Arts program, and my acceptance into said program, was something I had on my bucket list of to-eventually-dos since I graduated with my Bachelor's earlier this year. This is why, when I was accepted into the MFA program, I was beyond ecstatic and ready to dive back in. 

Like all things, I started at the beginning: with MFA-505, or, Intro to the MFA Program. 

Led by Senior Associate Dean Derrick Craigie, the class began as most of my others did: with an introductory discussion, as well as what is described as a "virtual mentorship," in which we were tasked to choose a text to help guide us through the class. I chose Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott, which I'll dive into here shortly.

The class was primarily composed of three major moving parts: a series of discussion posts surrounding what we believed our place in the writing community happened to be, a number of journals that accompanied them, and a large, interview-style project that was the culmination of our work in MFA-505. 

There was also a segment wherein we were tasked to rewrite the opening of Herman Meville's Moby Dick, and a mock workshop we took part in, during which we "critiqued" a previously written story by a writer outside the class through the Annotate program (which I unfortunately did wrong due to lack of proper instructions, which is in part a failure on present university guidelines as well as my own lack of comprehension.) I have attached a (rather unfortunately lengthy) video of the rewrite exercise, as well as my thoughts on it, below. 

You can read the final version that I refined for the discussion post, wherein we completed this exercise, on the blog here. 

Throughout the duration of Intro to the MFA, I felt as though I belonged, and that I was in a space of like-minded writers who were working toward their various goals and aspirations. I received great feedback from Senior Associate Dean Craigie, had excellent interactions with my peers, and felt the final project (the interview-style paper) did its job in helping establish a baseline toward what we will be eventually doing in the later parts of the class. 

In regard to Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, I felt that much of the text was designed with beginning writers in mind. While I do not feel that is a failing on Lamott's part, and is based more on the fact that I have been writing for some time, I would have chosen a different text had I known it was written to cater to those who were new(er) in the writing process. Had I the choice to go back and choose a different text, I would have probably picked King's On Writing, which likely would have served me better given the point I am at in the current state of my career.

Beyond the issues I had with Annotate, I felt this class was the perfect introduction to the MFA program at Southern New Hampshire University. Senior Associate Dean Craigie was an excellent instructor, and I am extremely pleased with how the course was assembled and scaffolded throughout.

Final grade: A (1000/1000)